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“It’s the best way to manage the technical side of the job, and you can then be free to focus on the creative side of things.” Cap's shield, found frozen in the ice, decades after his assumed death. “On these types of films, a large part of the cinematographer’s job is being organized,” he notes. The book is a constant presence on set, and it’s an evolving record, with Johnson updating it almost daily. The cinematographer starts every production by making a reference book containing camera lists, lighting lists, orders, inventories, diagrams, photos, and production art. While the director concentrated on building his world, Johnson concentrated on giving it light. In the second, which I call ‘the wake-up call,’ you have to compromise, to reinterpret your ideal version of the film as something you can actually put on the screen.” “Preparation is the one ingredient you can’t have too much of,” says the director. Seven months before the shoot commenced, Johnston and production designer Rick Heinrichs began sketching out every scene in great detail.
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Shelly Johnson, ASC Director of photography Shelly Johnson, ASC adjusts a source for the scene. It’s the best way to manage the technical side of the job, and you can then be free to focus on the creative side of things.” “On these types of films, a large part of the cinematographer’s job is being organized. “This shoot was like a giant freight train: when it leaves the station, there’s a lot of momentum behind it!” he says. The schedule was so packed that as many as seven sets were up and running at any time, according to Johnson. Stage work was shot at Shepperton Studios. Principal photography took place in the United Kingdom, with various locations standing in for sites in the United States, Iceland, and Europe. “It has a cumulative effect and really helps immerse the audience in that world.”Īll told, Captain America was filmed on more than 115 sets and locations. “One of the things the two films have in common is that they take you on a long journey, and you’re rarely in the same place twice,” the cinematographer observes. Part of that appeal, he continues, lay in the parallels between Captain America and another action-adventure film set in the same period, Raiders of the Lost Ark, for which Johnston was the visual effects art director at Industrial Light & Magic. Director of photography Shelly Johnson, ASC says he eagerly signed on to Captain America: The First Avenger because it offered a chance to reteam with director Joe Johnston, a favorite collaborator, and because “the story offered a lot of cinematic appeal.” This article originally appeared in AC, August 2011. Some images may be additional or alternate.